Breaking Point
by xiaosnowtenshi
Summary: AU setting. Breaking Point n: the point at which somebody loses the ability to deal physically, psychologically, or emotionally with a stressful situation. Or the ability of all three. 2xR
1. Intro

27/03/2007 18:20:00

[Disclaimer: It makes me sad when I say I don't own Duo Maxwell. Really, you have no idea how sad.

A/N: Very much so AU; I don't usually like to do this, but I started this story not intending for it to be a GW fic.

Break-ing Point _n_: the point at which somebody loses the ability to deal physically, psychologically, or emotionally with a stressful situation.

Or the ability of all three.

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It was desolate. It was dirty, and overgrown with weed. It was a place nobody passed by unless they had to, and nobody wanted to live near.

It was the train tracks.

Home to vagabonds and the classic place to bait the hero by endangering the heroin, it was no wonder nobody cared to stop

And notice the girl standing still by the tracks, her eyes kind of blank…her gaze points toward the city lights, but really, sees nothing.

Her iPod blasts 30 Seconds to Mars—her current obsession. _What if I fell to the floor/Couldn't take all this anymore/What would you do? _What **would** they do? Would anyone notice? Did anyone care enough to notice the absence of this girl who blended into the background, who slowly took in everything while everything happened in fast forward, x8?

Nothing she ever does is good enough. Everything she does for those she loves is misinterpreted, misunderstood. As much as she brushes it off, builds up her wall, acts like a bitch…it hurt. And it hurt so bad. She's afraid to care and to let it be known she cared, so she lines her words with venom.

The train nears the city, its voice at once soft and like a sigh, like a mom _tut_ing at her child's misdeeds, and at once high and shrill—screaming the way she wants to scream.

The ground rumbles, an indication of its approach, and her fear builds up—_ba-bump, ba-bump_ her heart pounds. And now two yellow eyes stare at her, smoke billowing above them, scattered wherever the winds take them. _Ba-bump, ba-bump, babumpbabumpbabump_—

At the very last second a pair of callous hands roughly pull her back, her heels almost catching in the tracks.


	2. Chapter 1

--Disclaimer: Someday when I have a sugar daddy I'll buy the rights to Duo. Er, I mean, I don't claim to own any of the characters in this story.--

"Wha—what the heck?! Who ARE you??" she sputtered, her heart still _ba-bump_ing away at fifty miles per hour.

She sized him up. The pull had sent him sprawling to the ground with only his arms for support, his fingers sunk into the sand and dirt and grass and weed medley. He wore a baseball cap, the edges frayed and betraying its age, but she could see a long braid swinging behind him. At least, she thought her "savior" was a "he". The cap hid his eyes, but she thought his mouth was rather pretty. His jeans had a hole in the left knee, but his button up shirt looked fairly new.

"You don't look like a bum, so what are you doing hangin' around here at this time of the night?"

"I could ask the same of you lady." He tipped his hat up with his right hand and stared at her, head tilted to the left.

She scrambled to her feet and crossed her arms, glaring down at him. "That ain't your business. Leave me alone."

"Tough attitude for someone who's clearly from a well-to-do family. Your voice gives it all away my dear." he smirked.

"I—I'm leaving now."

She stomped off, but he sat there still on the ground. A tiny grin appeared on his face as he watched her leave. She was the most beautiful creature he'd ever laid eyes on—at least in the street light—and even more so when she didn't know what to say. His arms collapsed and his back hit the warm ground, sending a cloud of yellow dust up. But hell if she didn't give him a scare with that attempted suicide stunt.

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After being chased three blocks by the neighborhood brat's pit bull puppy, she finally spotted her gate—left conveniently open by her housekeeper—and sprinted inside to safety. She slammed the door in the dog's snout and made faces at him while he growled and tried uselessly to gnaw through the wrought iron fence.

"Miss Relena…?" croaked a bleary voice behind her.

She whirled around in embarrassment. "Pagan. Sorry to wake you up."

"Quite alright. Come along inside now."

They closed the door on the yapping dog and turned off the porch light. The dog sulked home, disappointed by tonight's results. Once again the ritzy neighborhood resumed its sleepy state, undisturbed by the outside world.

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_Briiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing!_

The loud and shrill noise of the first period bell resonated inside Relena's head, hardly helping the fact that she only managed four hours of sleep last night. She trudged her way to calculus, frequently shoved around by the Preps and Jocks, and even the Goths, as they all ran frantically for their respective classroom. It was only three months into the school year and already none of them could afford another tardy.

'Pathetic,' she thought, 'this is what you get for skipping, yet hoping to attend some ivy league school like your parents want you.'

She slid into her seat unnoticed by the teacher, who had apparently knocked her glasses to the floor and was currently blindly searching for them. A pen tapped her back. Relena reluctantly turned around.

"Hey there."

Maybe it was the lack of sleep, but for a moment she just stared at the owner of the voice (and the pen), her brain trying to register the image before her eyes. It was the same damn guy from last night—why?

"Why?"

"Why what?" He was confused.

"Why are you following me?"

"What? Woah now, don't get the wrong idea. I think you're attractive and all but I'm not following you. I happen to be a new student."

"…Right."

She turned back around slowly; the teacher had found her glasses and looked like she wanted to call roll. If she could get her students to shut it first. He tapped her again.

"What?"

"What's your name?" Again with the head tilt, right side this time.

"What's _yours_?"

"Duo Maxwell, at your service. Now your turn."

"Re—"

"Relena Peacecraft, if you could please direct your attention to the front of the classroom it would be most appreciated." scolded the teacher.

The class snickered as a whole. Relena fumed. Duo looked on innocently while apologizing in his mind.


End file.
